In a bid to woo the Government employees in an election year, the State Government has firmed up plans to introduce health insurance scheme extending cashless medical treatment benefits to them.
The Health Department is working on the structure and the parameters of the proposed scheme that will be submitted to the Government soon.
More than 4.5 lakh employees along with their family members are slated to benefit from the scheme.
The move comes after the Government successfully implemented the Odisha State Treatment Fund (OSTF) for the poorer sections providing free treatment to the patients up to `3 lakh as well as the Biju Krushak Kalyan Yojana (BKKY) health insurance scheme for farmers earlier this year.
“The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana is also under implementation. After covering the most vulnerable section, the Government is keen to ensure health security for its employees and officials,” Health Secretary PK Mohapatra said here on Tuesday.
In the present system,the Government employees had to submit reimbursement claim for medical expenses (RCM) post-treatment in the hospitals.
The health insurance by facilitating cashless treatment facilities will put an end to the hassles in submitting expense proofs and obtaining reimbursements. The coverage limit along with contribution would be fixed as per the ranks and posts held by the employees.
The Government is also keen to establish diagnostic centres and laboratories across the State on a PPP mode bringing test facilities to the people at the grassroots right at the level of PHCs and CHCs.
Earlier, the plan was to make them possible through Hindlabs of the National PSU HLL Life Care Ltd. But the Government has now offered top rope in major laboratories and organisations with expertise in the State and outside for the purpose.
Request for Proposals (RFPs) would be issued for the organisations keen to partner the Government in establishing the diagnostic labs and centres across the peripheral health institutions. The services would be provided at nominal users’ fee.
The initiative would give a fillip to the free drug delivery initiative under which free drugs are being provided to patients attending the government hospitals right down to the lowest levels at the PHCs, Mohapatra said.